SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
marie gluesenkamp perez
US Election Sabotage Fears Grow After Ballot Boxes Set Aflame
"Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable," said Oregon's secretary of state.
Oct 28, 2024
Law enforcement officials in the Pacific Northwest are investigating a pair of Monday morning fires at ballot drop boxes that have heightened concerns about illegal efforts to interfere with the November 5 elections.
One fire occurred around 3:30 am Pacific time on Southeast Morrison Street in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Police Bureau explained that "by the time officers arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by security personnel who work in the area. Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire."
Multnomah County noted in a separate statement that "fire suppressant inside the ballot box protected virtually all the ballots," and the three voters whose ballots were damaged will be contacted by officials so they can receive replacements.
"Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable," declared Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. "Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters."
Griffin-Valade, a Democrat, commended the Multnomah County Elections Division, thanked first responders, and stressed that the few impacted voters are being contacted, which "shows that our systems are safe and secure."
However, the other fire at Fisher's Landing Transit Center in Vancouver, Washington damaged up to hundreds of ballots. Clark County election officials are urging anyone who dropped off a ballot there after 11:00 am Pacific time on Saturday to contact them.
This year, at the national level, voters are set to choose the next president—Republican former President Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris—and which party controls each chamber of Congress. There is a tight congressional contest in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Vancouver.
Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, is seeking a second term as the district's representative. Her Republican challenger is the same as the last cycle: Joe Kent.
In response to the apparent arson, Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman pointed out on social media that "in 2022, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) only beat Joe Kent (R) here by 2,629 votes. The rematch is a toss-up."
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, stressed Monday that "we take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process."
"I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state," he added. "Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections officials' ability to keep Washington's elections safe and secure for all voters."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that it "is coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents" and "anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov, or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324)."
As CNNreported Monday:
Last week, a mailbox outside a Phoenix post office was set on fire, damaging an unknown number of ballots. A 35-year-old man was charged with arson in connection with the incident. The Phoenix Police Department said he told them it was not politically motivated.
The fires come after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin raising concerns [about] "election-related grievances," such as a belief in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to engage in violence in the weeks before and after the November election.
In the intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN, the agencies said some domestic violent extremists likely see publicly accessible locations, including ballot drop boxes, as "attractive targets."
Throughout this cycle, Democrats and other Trump critics have expressed concern that the Republican nominee will refuse to accept defeat if Harris wins, emphasizing that after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden, he launched a series of unsuccessful legal challenges and incited the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump's campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday night further stoked such fears. Kathleen Belew, a Northwestern University associate professor of history who studies the U.S. white supremacist movement, asserted that at the event, "fascism is on full display, openly: no dog whistles, no plausible deniability."
The blazes at the ballot boxes sparked similar concerns. Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith said that "this is... spoiler alert... the Succession finale, itself drawn from nightmare election scenarios drawn up by wonks."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Golden Blasted for 'Tantrum' Attacking Student Borrowers After Taking Sallie Mae Donation
"This should be read as a declaration from Jared Golden," said one critic, "that he has no interest in representing the Democratic party in any future statewide race."
Aug 19, 2023
The United States' first debtors' union and a former staffer of U.S. Rep. Jared Golden were among those who rebuked the corporate Democrat on Friday after he said in a statement that he opposes student debt relief because it would benefit "privileged" Americans—and refused to answer questions about donations he's taken from student loan company Sallie Mae.
When asked by the Maine Beacon whether his vote to block student debt relief this past spring was related to a $5,000 donation from Sallie Mae to Golden's conservative Blue Dog Coalition, the congressman dismissed the suggestion by saying "radical leftist elites" were trying to "silence and destroy" him and other student debt cancellation opponents.
"I stand by my vote and my opposition to forking out $10,000 to people who freely chose to attend college," Golden (D-Maine) said. "They were privileged to have the opportunity, and many left college well-situated to make six-figure salaries for life."
He added that people who "want free money for college" should join the military or "join a union and enter an apprenticeship" to gain "a career and hard skills without college debt."
The Beacon approached Golden a week after public disclosures showed that the Blue Dog Political Action Committee, which benefits the coalition Golden co-chairs, accepted donations from Sallie Mae—officially known as the Student Loan Marketing Association—and the Career Education Colleges and Universities PAC less than a month after he voted to block President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for many borrowers.
Golden's co-chair, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), was the only other Democrat to vote in favor of blocking the plan.
Sallie Mae's contribution to the PAC was the maximum possible contribution for the company.
After Golden's defensive comments to the Beacon on Friday, the Debt Collective, which represents some of the 45 million Americans who owe a collective $1.8 trillion in student loan debt, asked on social media whether Sallie Mae wrote the lawmaker's statement.
"Jared Golden is an elitist taking handouts from Sallie Mae to kill student debt cancellation for the working class," saidthe group.
James Myall, a policy analyst for the Maine Center for Economic Policy, pointed out that Golden's claim about "six-figure salaries" is hardly relatable for the people he represents in Congress, as the average student debt for graduates of University of Maine is $35,000, while the median income for those graduates who stay in Maine is just $70,000 10 years after finishing school.
Communications professional Morgan Urquhart said that as a former employee of Golden's in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, his comments about student loan borrowers—including 92,000 of his constituents who would have been eligible for Biden's cancellation proposal—were "truly embarrassing."
"As your former employee, I have to say this divisive language and clear derision for people like me, first-generation college graduates from working class Maine families, goes way beyond disappointing," said Urquhart, replying to Golden on Twitter. "Shame on you."
The grassroots movement People for Bernie Sanders rebuked Golden for using the nation's labor unions to make his case against student debt relief, considering unions including the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have all thrown their weight behind the push for debt cancellation.
Progressive campaigner Robert Cruickshank said "someone should let [Golden] know" that student debt relief is broadly popular across the political spectrum, despite the lawmaker's claim that advocates are so-called "radical leftist elites."
Polling last year showed that 63% of Americans supported student debt cancellation, including 59% of Independents, 83% of Democrats, and 41% of Republicans.
Dan Aibel, the operator of the long-running Twitter account Collins Watch, which reports on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Maine politics, said Golden's remarks amounted to an "unfortunate attempt to pit working class Mainers against each other rather than advocating for their interests and working to build solidarity among them."
"This should be read as a declaration from Jared Golden," said Aibel, "that he has no interest in representing the Democratic party in any future statewide race."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Four House Dems Join GOP to Pass $886 Billion Military Bill Packed With Right-Wing Amendments
"It includes provisions to restrict access to abortion and transgender care for military members," said one advocacy group. "What an absolute disgrace."
Jul 14, 2023
Four House Democrats crossed the aisle on Friday and voted for an $886 billion military policy bill containing Republican amendments aimed at rolling back abortion access and gender-affirming care for service members, as well as a measure that would bar the Pentagon—a major emitter—from carrying out President Joe Biden's climate-related executive orders.
The four Democrats who joined 215 Republicans in voting yes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) were Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine.), Donald Davis (D-N.C.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.).
Four Republicans—Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)—voted against the legislation.
The bill's passage came after a heated amendment process during which Republicans advanced a slew of proposals designed to prevent the renaming of military facilities named after Confederate soldiers, eliminate Pentagon diversity programs, end the Defense Department's reimbursement of service members who travel to obtain abortion care, and stop the agency from covering gender-affirming care for trans service members.
The latter three amendments were included in the final legislation.
The final House bill also includes Republican amendments that would penalize defense contractors for taking part in boycotts against Israel and prohibit any Department of Defense Education Activity funds from purchasing school library books that espouse "radical gender ideology," which the amendment does not define.
Meanwhile, the GOP blocked consideration of amendments that would have banned the sale or transfer of cluster bombs worldwide, cut the Pentagon budget by $100 billion, reined in price gouging by military contractors, repealed the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, and blocked funding for the B83-1 nuclear bomb.
"The bill MAGA House Republicans passed today allocates the single largest funding total the Pentagon has ever received from Congress and actively blocks the Biden administration from retiring obsolete, costly, and unnecessary weapons systems," Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said in a statement. "It follows the end of a 20-year war, and the fifth time the Defense Department has failed an audit."
"The funding level is far from the only problem with this NDAA," Jayapal and Lee continued. "MAGA Republicans conducted an unprecedented and unrecognizable process, refusing to even allow debate on amendments that have been made in order for years. They even robbed a Progressive Caucus member of her amendment to ban the transfer of cluster munitions and handed it to one of the most extreme MAGA members, who weakened its provisions."
"The result is a bill that goes out of its way to attack abortion, immigrants, and LBGTQ rights and efforts to make the military more inclusive and reflective of America; reverses progress on climate action; and hobbles our ability to combat extremism in the military," they added. "Thanks to MAGA House Republicans, this bill excludes progressives' provisions to protect the human rights of civilians abroad, reassert congressional war powers, or strengthen labor and civil rights for service members."
"Progressives will have to keep up this fight until this fringe movement is defeated."
It's not clear how many of the Republican amendments will survive the coming legislative process.
The narrowly Democratic Senate still needs to pass its own version of the NDAA, and the two chambers must then reconcile the differences between the two bills.
Eric Eikenberry, government relations director at Win Without War, implored the Senate to strip out the "hateful measures" attached by the House GOP once the conference process begins.
"If the Freedom Caucus were really interested in shaking things up, its members could have used their decisive influence over Speaker McCarthy to repeal outdated and dangerous AUMFs, cut the Pentagon budget, and end unfunded priority lists that plus-up the Pentagon topline," said Eikenberry. "Instead, as the world hits record temperatures and people across the country fight to maintain their rights, they chose to use military personnel policy to renew attacks on women, people of color, and LGBTQI+ people, in the hopes that they can impose on the broader public tomorrow what they can force on servicemembers today."
"Progressives will have to keep up this fight until this fringe movement is defeated," Eikenberry added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular